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A review by etivepmc
1922 by Stephen King
3.0
I'd give this a 3.5 if possible. Probably one of the better of King's short stories - obviously, it's been released on its own as a "standalone". This is essentially a story about how the greed of one person can corrupt a whole group - Wilf wants to keep his own land, doesn't want Arlette to sell her land, so Wilf (helped by his young son Hank) slaughters his wife and throws her body down a well. Arlette wants to pocket some cash and get away from the family farm to open her own shop in the city - she insults Hank's sweetheart and behaves in a vulgar manner, slapping her own son.
The real victim of this is Hank - he doesn't really want to kill his mother, he's just terrified of upsetting his father and upset himself for being insulted and slapped by his mother whom he loves so dearly. Corruption spreads from his father to him, motioning for him to run away from home and begin a short life of crime, encouraging his pregnant girlfriend to join him. Ultimately getting all three killed.
Are the rats real? Can Wilf really see his dead wife being puppeted by rats? I don't think so, I think his guilt caused him to see apparitions of her to remind him of what he had done.
The real victim of this is Hank - he doesn't really want to kill his mother, he's just terrified of upsetting his father and upset himself for being insulted and slapped by his mother whom he loves so dearly. Corruption spreads from his father to him, motioning for him to run away from home and begin a short life of crime, encouraging his pregnant girlfriend to join him. Ultimately getting all three killed.
Are the rats real? Can Wilf really see his dead wife being puppeted by rats? I don't think so, I think his guilt caused him to see apparitions of her to remind him of what he had done.